Improvement in machines for making horse-shoe nails



UNITED STATES PATENT DANIEL DODGE, OE 'KEEsEVILLE NEW YORK.

Specifica-tion fiorning part of 'Leiters PatentNo. 41|,l4 l.. (lated January 5, 1864.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,KDANIEL DODGE, of Keeseville, ,in the countyvof Essex and State vof New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Nail-Machines; and I do fhereby declare that t-he following is a -full, clear, and exact description of, the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, forming a partV of this spcciiication, in"l Which- Y Figure 1 is a plan of a s uihcient portion of l ra nail-machine to illustrate my improvement.l

Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal section'of the machine, taken @lose to the principaloperating parts, as indicated bythe line xx in'Fig'. Fig. 3 is a transverse verticalsection of the saine in the line y y of Fig.V 1. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are top views of a nail, illustrating the 'operation of the improvement. Fig. 7 isa top view of the pointingcutters o than Figs. 1, 2, and 3.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention relates to machinery for the manufacture of forged nails, more especially horseshoe-nails.

In the manufacture of such nails by nIachineny it is diihc'ult to, produce as thin or fine a point as is desirable by-a hammering or drawing operation. I have therefore adopted the plan of cutting the point-s after having reduced the nail as much as desirable by hammering or drawing.

My vimprovement consists in the employment, in a machine for making forged nails, of cutters so constructed and applied that they wll'serve the purpose of cutting metal from the side of the nailto redce the thickness and produce'the desired form of the point.

It also consists inthe employment, in com bination with such cutters, of amoving finger or presser so arranged in combination with` a xcd guide as to press the nail against such guide and hold it inV contact therewith and in properposition during the operation of cutting the point, Aand as to so act upon the point lbefore or during the 'cutting operationA as to bring it into line with the center of the. nail when the cutting is completed. I

Toenable others skilled inthe art to make and use my'invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation,

a larger scale The parts of the machine represented, er"v the present invention, are substantially or for the most pa rtsuchas are described in my Letters Patent Nos. 275,183 and 25,309.

A is 'the framing; B, the anvil; C, the fixed die having its faceat aright angle to t-he anrevolves opposite Ato the face of the anvil.

The above-mentioned parts are constructed and operate substantially as described in Letters Patent l\Io. 25, 309. I ff F isthe reciprocating gripper', which forms 'part Vof the subject-matter of Letters Patent 'a and b, Figs. l, 3, and7, are the cutters by which the surplus metal' is cut from the point ofthe nail to makethe nail of proper length and bring the point to the proper form. The lower cutter, a, is inserted in a su-itable groove provided in the framing, and secured in a fixed position by arkey, c, as shown in Fig. 3. The said cutters are arranged and operated in the same manner as the cutters described in my Letters -Patent No. 25.309 for cutting oi' the nai1-th at is to say, the upper cutter, b, is secured in the same-vibrating stock or arm, D, as the cutter which cuts ofil the nail from the rod, the said stock or arm beingcarried by a rock-shaft, 'D'. fixed cutter, in connection with which it operates, are neither of them shown,` bm are supposed to be Ipliec and operated as described ,in my beforeinentioned Letters Patent; but the edges of the cutters a b, instead of being at right angles tothe line of the'nail and nailrod, which are shown 'in red color in Figs. 1, 2, andv 7, are arranged obliqu'ely thereto, so that they will cut the nail in an oblique'or slanting direction, as shown in the plan view, Fig. 7, and so produce the desired taper' and thin point. d is the ixed guide'against which vthenail isheld While the point is being out. This guide vis arranged close above the fI-Xed cutter a in a xedfstock, G; in which it issecured by a set-screw, e, but in which it is adjustable transverselyr to the line of the `nailrod and nailto` allow the nail to come' to a proper position over the .edge of the cutter a.

lf is the finger by which the, nail is pushed against the guided arranged dehindfthe cutlters agb on the opposite-side of the path in' cepting the improvements which const-itnte Vil; D, the shaft carrying the roller I, which The latter cutter and thewhich the nail-rod and nail pass through the back by a spring, h, which connects it withl the framing of the machine.

The operation of the cutters a I) and linger f is as follows: After the nail has been drawn out as thin as is desirable by means ofthe roller 1' and the hammer (not shown) operating in combination with the anvil .B and fixeddie G, as described in Letters Patent N o. 25.309, it is drawn back toward the front of the machine by the reciprocating gripper., F to a position to be cut from the rod, and while it is so drawn back the cutter-stock D descends and the finger f advances toward the portion which is left projecting beyond the guide d, and so holds the nail against the said guide while the cutter b descends to cut ofi" the surplus metal from the point; The cutters a b finish their operation before the cutter which cuts 01T the nail from the rod7V and the advance ofthe ingerf continues during the operation of the cutters a b, by which means it is caused to press the point of the nail continually toward the side of the machine on which the guide is placed and bring the taper point produced by the cutters inline with. the4 center of the nail, as shown in Fig. 6.

Were it not for the. above-described operation of the iingerf, thepoint of the nail would be cut in the form shown in Fig. 5, which would bejust as good for all practical purposes, as the nails are always drawn to a finer point by the horseshoer, who Would at the 'same timestraighten the point; but the nail iu the last mentioned form. not looking so well,V

would be less marketable. The same etl'ect as shown in Fig. 6 would be produced by arranging the iingerf to bend the point ofthe nail sullieiently to the right before theoperation ofthe cutters a b commences.

Instead of using` a separate piece, d, for the guide or gage, thelower cutter, a, may be made to serve the same purpose by giving its edge an upward elevation toward the front of the machine, so that the cutters commence, cutting in front with a shears-.like action and cut toward the point of the nail.`

The machine may be furnished with means of holding the nail in front of the cutters a. l during the cutting operation.

Instead of a single pair of cutters to cut from one side only of the point of the nail, there may be two pairs of cutters to cut from both sides, in which case the point of the nail would be producedin the center without the use of the finger f or other device for the same purpose.

Vhat I claim asl my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The employment, in a machine for making forged nails,of cutters so constructed, arranged; and operating as to serveI the purpose of cutting metal from the side-to reduce the thickness and produce the desired form of the point of the nail, substantially as-herein specified.

2. The iingerf, or its equivalent, operating in combination with the upper cutter, b, and with a iixed guide or gage, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

DANIEL Dones. Vitnesses:

THos. S. JDocLAs, M. M. LIvrNesToN. 

